There are times where even the most positive person in the world (read: definitely not me) will begin to wonder if that face they put out to the world, the one that's always smiling, is really just a facade. There are times where it'll feel fake.

So imagine then what it's like for those of us who just know we're not positive people.

It's hard to smile all the time. It's hard to think good thoughts about yourself, about others, about anyone and anything, if that's not the way you're wired.

And like a lot of hard things, it's so important that you do it.

Like I said, I'm no bastion of positivity, no lighthouse in a storm of negative guiding sailors away from the rocks, but I am a lot more positive than I ever expected I'd be. I think it came from something I learned from playing high school basketball.

In basketball, there are a lot of obstacles between you and the goal of scoring. You learn pretty quickly that being straight-forward - dribbling without guarding the ball, passing to who everyone expects you're passing to, and shooting when you're not open - won't get you very far.

So you have to fake shots. Fake passes. Fake out the defender with a crossover.

Faking in life is generally thought of as a bad thing. Faking in basketball is kind of a requirement.

But what if we reframe our perspective a little bit? What if, when we pretend we're positive, it's because we're practicing to actually be positive? It's not faking, just rehearsing. Learning a better way to get past the obstacles and get to our goals.

Maybe it doesn't make sense for you. Maybe it doesn't make sense for anyone. I don't have all of the answers. I just know that it comes down to choosing between the feeling that makes me want to lay down on the floor and not get up or the slightest inkling that there just might be a better way, I'd like to try the latter.